City and union employees reach agreement on 2014-2015 contract

Grand Marais City Council approved the terms of a two-year deal at their April 9 meeting. Union members approved the contract the following morning.

Mayor Larry Carlson, who participated in the negotiation process, said he was confident the union would approve the tentative agreement councilors reviewed at their meeting. “We ultimately agreed to what they asked for at the last meeting,” he said.

The new contract is retroactive to the beginning of 2014 and remains in effect through the end of 2015. It grants the approximately 20 members of the local union a 1.5 percent pay increase each year and spells out some minor changes in employment policies.

Also, as in past years, council voted to award supervisors the same wage increase as that given to union members.